A recent move by the menacing Record Industry Association of America has once again brought copyright laws to the forefront of public debate. Google has bucked under the pressure of the RIAA and has since removed almost 10 million links deemed in violation of copyright in the latest battle between the two companies.
The 9,986,936 take-down demands were issued on behalf of Universal Music Group, Warner Bros Records and Sony Music Entertainment, whose rights are protected by the industry watchdog, but according to Digital Music News, the “avalanche method” as the ulterior motive of testing, if not damaging Google’s resilience with millions of compliance chores, will surely eat up a serious amount of time for the search engine.
In fact, it would have been such an imposition to Google to follow through with the order, that Google’s legal director Fred von Lohmann issued a public statement urging that we reconsider current copyright and piracy laws. Sure, with their thousands of staff and countless budget, Google will be able to meet the requirements eventually, but in the words of Digital Music News, “the tactic could be extremely effective outside of the Google theater.”
In other words, business without the security of Google, including Grooveshark and Spotify, would simply crumble under the weight of such a demand and potentially never rebuild. However, as per the below image (via pigeons and planes), there are ways for websites to escape the gallows of copyright law.
